Sole machine



Jan. 27. 1925 1,524,165

F. E. BERTRAND SOLE MACHINE Original Filed March 19, 1920 6 SheetsSheet .1

Edith/ass V lizaenior' Jan; 27, .1925. 1,524,165

F. E. BERTRAND SOLE MACHINE- Original Filed March 19, 1920 6 sheetsh-sheet 2 Zu'z; tn/ess 1306/7/50? M W W%M Jan,

F. E. BERTRAND SOLE MACHINE Original Filed March 19, 1920 6 SheetsSheet 5 F. E. BERTRAND SOLE MACHINE Original Filed March 19, 1920 6 -$118 4 Jan. 1925- F. E. BERTRAND s'oLE MACHINE Original Filed March 19, 1920 6 heets-Sheet 5 Jan. 1925- 1,524,165

BERTRAND SOLE MACHINE Ori inal Filed March 19, 1920 6 $heets sheet 6 Kama W Patented Jan. 27, 1925.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

FEEDER/I0 E. BERTRAND, OF LYNN, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR T0 UNITED SHOE MACHINERY CORPORATION, 01: PETERSON, NEW JERSEY, A CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY.

SOLE MACHINE.

Original application filed March 19, 1920, Serial No. 367,169, which has matured into Patent No. 1,410,157, dated March 21, 1922. Divided and this application filed October 24, 1918.' Serial No. 259,568.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, Fnnonnro E. BER- TRAND, a citizen of the United States, residing at Lynn, in the county of Essex and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Sole Machines; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to machines for operating on stock such as soles. The invention is particularly advantageous in the manufacture of turn soles.

Turn soles and some welt insoles are provided with a channel and a shoulder which form. between them the betweensubstauce to receive the stitches which secure the sole to the upper. The out which produces the shoulder is made by a knife which also makes a cut extending from the base of the shoulder to the edge of the sole and the marginal portion remaining after these cuts have been made is known as the feather. In turn soles, the edge of the feather forms the. edge of the sole as seen in the finished shoe.

In order that the edge may properly be trimmed and set insuring that the sole will present a pleasing appearance it is highlv desirable that the exposed edge of the sole shall have a uniform thickness. This is commonly secured by gaging the depth of the shoulder cut from the unchanneled or grain side of the sole. Thus, however much the sole may exceed the thickness desired in the feather, a uniform edge is produced. In this method of manufacture, however, it is apparent that when a thick spot is encountered in making the shoulder cut, the shoulder will be cut proportionately deeper While at a thin spot it is proportionately shallower.

The channel, in order to facilitate the sewing operation, is out to a. uniform depth from the flesh side. Unless the bottom of the channel and the bottom of the shoulder are in a fixed relation, substantially in the same plane throughout their length, the upper can not be secured to the sole in a satisfactory manner. It is a shoulder out only.

evident that under the present method of manufacture the desired relation of the channel and shoulder can never be obtained while there is any variation in the thickness of the stock because measurement is made from the grain side of the sole to a surface that is, to the margin or top of the feather) and from the flesh side to a line (the bottom of the channel) and still it is re quired that the surface and the line shall have a uniform relation to the flesh side of the sole.

On certain types of turn shoes the sole appears much thinner at the shank than around the forepart. This appearance is secured by skiving the feather at the shank after the channel and shoulder have been cut, which operation is known as shank reducing. The feather is usually skived at the shank by a. channeling machine having the channel knife removed so as to make A knife having the desired angle is substituted for the shoulder knife employed to cut the forepart of the sole and, as in the channeling machine, the knife is mounted a fixed distance above the work support so that if the shank of the sole is of uniform thickness the cut will extend from the bottom of the shoulder to the edge thereby producing a feather edge of uniform thickness and not affecting the shoulder already formed. This result is almost never secured, however, in actual practice for two reasons, one reason being that a case of soles Vary from the standard thickness, which variation will cause the cut to run out of the feather short of the shoulder on a thin place, and the other reason being that the operators fail to change to a knife of the proper angle every time the standard thickness of the sole changes. This causes the shoulder to be deepened when a lot of thicker soles is found. Therefore, while a uniform edge is produced by the shank reducing machine, variations are always found in the depth of shoulder or the surface of the margin in a thin edge shank.

The edge or feather of a turn sole is molded, that is, bent slightly toward the grain side, in order that the edge of the sole shall hug the last and avoid being picked up by the needle during the sewing tion. Any projection "on the feather above a straight line connecting the bottom of the shoulder and the edge increases the amount of bendnecessary to give a safe clearance ,between the needle and the feather. Hence it isevidentthat a smooth surface connecting the shoulder and the edge is the most desirable, not only at the shank but also around the forepart.

' the object of the invention is to conduct the manufacture of turn soles in such manner that the disadvantages hereinbefore pointed-out, due to present incorrect methods of manufacture are overcome. Accord ingly' it is proposed to gage the shoulder opera- -;deptht'roin the-flesh side oi the sole and produce a uniform edge by a suitable variation in: the angle of the margin or surface of the feather. To the accomplishment of this object a machine otthe type for reducing shanks is provided with a knife having its point a fixed distance below the flesh sideof the sole to determine the depth of the shoulder and means for automatically varying'the angular position of the knife, about a center coincident with its cutting end, in accordance with the thickness of the workso as to produce a unitorm edge.

Another object of the invention is to provide armachine of the character described, whichwill maintain the desired uniformity of shoulder and edge irrespective ot the width of the feather, This result is secured by providing means for automatica llyvarying the angular position ot the knit'e when the machine is adjusted to accommodate a different width ot feather.

T he particular embodiment of the invention selected for illustration is a shank redueing machine. It will be obvious, to one skilled in the art, that the same machine may be employed in forming the shoulder cut around the torepart, in which case the channel may be cut in a separate operation,

butit is within the scope of the inventioir to channel and shoulder in the same machine. In another aspect the invention may be regarded as directed to the automatic adjustment of an instrumentality, such as a stock-fitting cutter, according to variations in a characteristic, as for example, the thickness, of the stock operated upon. In the illustrated embodiment thereof, nien'ibers engage opposite sides ot a piece of stock, shown as a turn sole, measuring its thickness by theirdegree of separation, and a feather-edging cutter is mounted for angular adjustment to preserve spaced points (as tor example those at the bottom of the shoulder and the top of the feather. edge of: the

- sole) in unvarying relation to opposite sides of the stock regardless of its thickness, the

adjustment being controlled by the degree ot sej'iaration of the work-engaging members. This is made more eiact when the variations are large by the provision oi a novel torm of mechanical connection, which transforms equal successive increments oi motion of separation of said members into progressively smaller degrees of angular adjustment of the operating instruinciu'ality, to preserve uniforn'iity in its action on the stock regardless of variations in thickness, as hereinafter explained. For certain classes of work, however, where the an gular change is small, the arc and its chord being substantially equal, the desired result can be obtained by a more direct connection.

iurther feature of the invention is to be found in a provision for automatically varying the degree oi adjustment of the cutter or other operating instrumenlality according to the width ot stock operated upon. in the illustrated embodiment. the position of an edge gage controls the length of a lever arm in the novel mechanical connection which makes the adjustments, so that the angular movements oi the cutter are less for a wide than tor a narrow feather.

The preferred form of the invention is shown in the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1' is an end elevation of the shank reducing machine; Fig. 2 is a side elevation, looking from the right in Fig. l Fig. 3 is a side elevation, certain parts being broken away, looking from the left in Fig. 1; Fig. 4 is an elevation of the head ot the machine on an enlarged scale, similar to Fig. 2; Fig. 5 is a sectional plan on the line 5-5 of Fig. 2: Figs. ('3 and T are diagran'm'iatic views showing the-relation of the parts as operating on different thicknesses o:t soles and different widths of feather; and Fig. 8 is a. diagram of the edge of a sole.

In the illustrated en'ibodiment of the invention the sole is gripped and ted between two rolls, the upper roll 20 being the feed roll and the lower roll 21 being the work supporting roll (see Fig. 2). The feed roll 20 is mounted in a rigid bearing. and the work supporting roll 21 is mounted so as to be capable of a vertical movement to accoml'nodate soles of varying thickness. The work supporting roll is cured to the end of a shaft 22 (Figs. 1, 2. 4 and 5) carried in a bearing 23 mounted on the upper end of a slide 2%. The slide is urged up *ardly by a spring 25 enclosed by the housing 26 projecting from the machine frame 27. The upward movement of the roll is limited, when there is no work in the machine, by a stop screw which is engaged by a lug 29 projecting from the slide.

Both rolls are preferably positively extends.

driven. The lower roll is driven through an ()ldham coupling (Fig. 2) which connectsr the shaft 22 with ashaft 31, the other end of whichcarries a gear 32. This gear is in mesh with a gear 33 secured to a shaft 34 which is connected by an Oldham coupling 35 with the shaft 36 carrying the feed roll 20. The gear 33 is rigidly connected with a gear 37, also mounted on the shaft 34:, which is driven by a pinion The pinion is formed on the hub of a driving-pulley 39 which, together with a loose pulley 40, is loosely mounted on a stud shaft 41. A belt (not shown) connecting the pulley with a suitable source of power is enclosed by a shipping device 4-2;

The feed roll 20 is narrower than the work supporting roll 21 and in order to hold the extreme edge of the sole down upon the work supporting roll a presser foot 46 is provided, as shown most clearly in Fig. 1-. The presser foot is mounted on the offset end of a slide d7 which is mounted to move in vertical ways formed on the frame 27. The presser foot is held yieldingly toward the work supporting roll by a grasshopper spring 18, one end of which is seated in a pin 4,-9 projecting from the slide, the other end being engaged by an adjust-able abutment screw 50 by which its tension may be adjusted. The downward movement of the presser foot when there is no work in the machine is limited by a stop screw 51 threaded into a lug 52 projecting from the slide 4C7.

The sole is positioned on the work supporting roll 21, always in the same relation thereto, by an edge gage 53 (Fig. 4). The edge gage is mounted in a vertical slot in a projection 54 formed on the bearing 23 in which the work supporting roll is mounted.

The knife 55 which makes the shoulder cut and which, by its angular position, determines the thickness of the edge of the feather is mounted in a knife block 56 (Figs. 1 and The knife block is secured by cap screw 57 to a block 58 which is in turn secured to an arcuate slide 59 by screws (30. The extreme end of the knife is provided with a substantially vertical extension which produces the vertical shoulder on the sole. The center of'movement of the slide 59 coincides with the extreme cutting edge of the knife which is the point of the angle formed between the substantially vertical extension on the knife end and the main cutting blade. The way 61, in which the arcuate slide 59 is adapted to move, is formed in the machine frame and is provided with an opening in the form of a slot 62 (Fig. through which the block 58 It is apparent that the point of the knife will always remain in fixed vertical relation to the feed roll 20, whatever may be the angular position of the knife.

The vertical distance between the work ongaging portion of the feed roll 20 and the point of the knife determines the depth of the shoulder, and, in order that the depth of the shoulder may be varied, the feed roll 20 is provided with means for adjusting its relation with the point of the knife. This adjusting means shown particularly in Figs. 1 and and consists of a bushing 63 loosely fitting the hole in the feed roll bearing and, provided with an eccentric hole to receive the shaft 36 on which the feed roll is mounted. The bushing is provided with a flange (idby which it may be turned to raise or lower the feed roll 20 and it is clamped in adjusted position by a draw bolt 65 (Fig 3) which clamps the bearing upon the bushing The Uldham coupling 35 permits the adjustment to be made relative to the driving shaft The feed roll is held on its shaft by the usual nut and washer (see Fig. 4-).

The work supporting roll 21 and edge gage 53 are constructed to be moved in the line of the axis of the roll in orde to vary the distance which the knife PI() is above the roll and thereby determines the width of the feather. This provision for adjustment is secured by forming the bearing 23 on a slide Gil 1 and which is adapted to be moved in ways formed in a way-block 67 on the upper end of the vertical slide 2d. The position of the slide 66 is adjusted by means of a hand wheel 68 secured to the end of a shaft 69 mounted in the bearings formed on the way-block 67. The middle portion of the shaft carries a rigidly mounted eccentric '70 (Fig. 2) upon which is mounted a. block 7.1. The block 71 is engaged in a slot formed .in an extension 72 formed integral with the slide (56. By this construction, rotation of the hand wheel 68 moves the bearing 23 and with it the roll 21 and edge gage in a direction parallel to the axes of the two rolls. The (lldham coupling 30 is provided with a lost motion in one of its tongue and groove connections, as indicated at 73 in Fig. 5, so that the bearing and shaft carried thereby may be adjusted longitudinally with relation to the driving shaft 31.

It is now apparent that the work supporting roll moves up and down in accordance with the thickness of the sole engaging be- &

knife, carrying slide 59 and the work supporting roll 21. As the work supporting roll is moved downward by an increased thickness of the work, the knife is turned to a greater angle in order to retain the same thickness of edge as was produced on a thinnerpart of the work. The connection by which the vertical movement of the work support is transmitted to the knife as an angular or rotary movement is shown particularly in' Figs. 1, 3 and The way-block is extended on one side to provideways for. a second slide 77. This slide has a depending arm 78 which carries a pivotally mounted block 79 which is engaged in a slot 80 formed in lever 81 mounted to swing vertically about a horizontal pivot pin 82 projecting from the machine. frame. The end of the lever 81 is connected by a yoke 83 with a vertically movable rod 84 mounted in bearings 85 on the machine frame. The movement of the rod being in a straight line and the novement of the end of the lever being radial the yoke 83 is connected with the lever by a stud 86 sliding in a. bore in the end, of the lever so that the yoke can move with relation to the lever to compensate for the variation in distance between the pivot or the rod 8 L and the center of oscillation of the lever. The connection between the yoke 83 and the rod 84 is capable of adjustment for purposes which will hereinafter be apparent. For the purpose of adjustment the yoke is connected bypivot pins 87 with a block 88 constructed to slide on the rod 84. The block 88 is held in adjusted position on the rod 84 by two collars 89, one on each side of the block which are threaded on to the rod. The rod 84 is slotted between the bearings 85 to receive the end of a slide pin 98 which is pivotally' connected with the rod 84 by a pinv 94. The slide pin 98 is received in an opening in a hub formed on an arm 96 which is pivotally mounted on the machine frame. The end of the arm is provided with a segmental gear 97 which meshes with a. pinion 98, rotatably mounted on the machine frame, which is also in mesh with a segmental rack 99 formed on the arcuate slide 59, with which the knife is rigidly connected.

The angular movement transmitted to the knife through variation in the thickness of the. work as determined by the work supporting roll 21 will be best understood from aninspection of Fig. 6, which is a diagram- ,matic view of the parts just described. The

ratio of the various movements in the mechanicaltrain connecting these parts is such that when the. thickness of the work increases from that shown at a to that shown at b, the roll 21 will be moved downwardly tothe positionindic-atedin dotted lines and,

through the connecting trainfrom the roll. lhe lever'81.will be moved to an angular distance equal to that included between the heavy center line 0 and the light center line (1. Through the connection. of the rod 84 this movement of the lever 81, will produce an angular movement of them-1n 96, as in dicated by the heavy and light center lines 0 and-f, which will be transmitted to the segmental'rack 99 by the pinion 9b and hence to the knife 55 and thereby move the knife through the angle indicated by the light and heavy broken linesg and la. The angle of the'line It, which is the angle to which the knife will be moved. produces the feather shown at b which, it will be observed. has the same thickness of the edge as that shown at a.

The reason for the parthrular construction of theconnections between the work supporting roll 2L and the knife will be best understood by reference to Fig. 8. It has been stated that the depth of lhe shoulder 0 and thegthiclmessof the edge I are to remain constant; therefore, when the sole varies in thickness this variation is taken up by variation in the distance m. Assume that the knife has been cutting so as to produce the angular cut a on the feather. the thickness of the sole now increases so that in order to maintain the shoulder 71: and the edge Z the angle of the knife must be that indicated at o. The movement of the roll caused by increased thickness of the sole has measured the angle included between the lines n and 0, but this measurement is not madeon a radius struck from the intersection of the lines it and 0 which would require an angular movement of the knife in direct ratio to the movement of the roll. \Vhat the roll has done is to measure the angle on the line 7) so that the distance 1* which is the movement of the roll, bears a definite relationship to the angular movement of the knife. It is evident that as the movement of the roll increases the ratio thereto of the angular movement of the knife produced thereby decreases, that is, a certain movement of the roll on thick work will produce less angular movement of the knife than that same movement of the roll on thin work. For instance, if the knife were cutting on a horizontal line and the thickness of the sole increased 3/64t of an inch, an angular movement of 2 degrees might be produced in the knife, whereas if the knife were cutting on the line a and thethickness of the sole increased the same amount. the angular movement produced in the knife might be 1 degrees. It is now, seen that the roll moves variable distances in measuring the same angular change required in the knife. ()r, looking at the result, it may be said that variable angular changes in the position of theknife are required for equal changes in Til loo

the movement of the roll by a train of mechanism including a device which compensat s for the variable movements of the roll in moving through distances calling for the same angular movement of the knife.

This compensating device comprises the rod 8 1 which moves in a straight line parallel with the movement of the roll, as caused by the variation in thickness of the sole, and the slide pin 93 and arm 96 which form a v lever of the first class in which the length of the power arm, that is, the effective length of the slide pin 93, is variable. The Variation in the effective length of the slide pin 93 is directly proportionate to the variation in the movement of the roll which has been described. For example, on an extremely thick sole the displacen'icnt of the roll 21 for a given change in thickness will be large as compared with the angular change demanded in the knife. At this time however, as the lever 81 and rod 84 have been depressed by the extreme thickness of the sole, the slide pin 93 will be at an angle of perhaps 15 which will greatly increase the effective length of the pin and therefore a given movement of the roll will produce a smaller angular movement of the knife.

In order that the accuracy of the knife moving mechanism may not be destroyed by wear, several pivots of the mechanism are made adjustable. The arm 96 is provided with a stud 100 (Figs. 2 and 3) which is mounted in an eccentric hole in a bushing 101. By rotating the bushing in the machine frame the pivotal point of the arm may be adjusted. The bushing is locked in adjusted position by a draw bolt 102. The pinion 98, for the same reason, is mounted on a stud 103 having an eccentric portion 104cwhich is received in the machine frame. The stud 103 is held in adjusted position by a nut 105 threaded on to the eccentric portion 104.

As the width of the feather increases less angular movement of the knife is required to produce the desired results with the same variation in thickness of the sole. For this reason provision is made for automatically varying the ratio of the levers in the knife swinging mechanism when the machine is adjusted to produce different widths of feather. This is preferably ac- COIIlPllSllGd by varying the point at which power is applied to the lever 81. l Vhen the hand wheel 68 is turned to move the work supporting roll to produce variation in the width of feather, the block 79 is moved in the slot 80 away from the pivot of the lever '81 thereby reducing the movement of the lever for the same vertical movement of the block. The slide 77, on which the block 7!) is mounted, is provided with a projection 108 having a rack 109 (Fig. 5) which is engaged by a pinion 110 secured to the shaft 69. The pinion may conveniently be formed on the hub of the eccentric 7 O which moves the slide 66. The ratio between the movement PlOClHOBCl by the eccentric and the movement of the slide 77 is such that the block 7 9 will. be moved the proper distance in the slot to correct the ratio of the connections between the work supporting roll and the knife for operating on any particular width of feather.

The two slides controlled by the hand wheel 68, that is, the slides 66 and 77, are secured in adjusted position by a single locking device. This device, as shown in Figs. 1, 3 and 5, consists of a thumb screw 111 threaded into one end of the lever 112 pivoted on cars 113 formed on the way block 67. The end of the thumb screw is reduced in diameter and enters a hole in one of the ways so as to bear against the gib 114 of the slide 66. The other end of the lever 112 engages a pin 115 which is loosely retained in a hole in the way block 67 and constructed to bear against the gib 116 of the slide 77. It is apparent that when the thumb screw 111 is turned it will clamp or unclamp both of the gibs 114 and 110 with relation to their respective slides 66 and 77.

The relation of parts when adjusted for a wider feather is shown in Fig. 7. With this adjustment an increase in the thickness of the sole from that shown at (I, to that shown at b will depress the roll and move the lever 81 through the angle indicated by the light and heavy broken lines 9 and 71/. This movement will produce the angular movement of the knife indicated by the broken lines which it will be observed, is consider ably less than the similar movement indicated in Fig. 6 produced by the same variation in thickness of the sole. Thus it is apparent that for the same vertical distances of movement of the roll 21 in operating on wide and narrow feathers, the angular change of the knife will vary in inverse proportion to the width of such feathers.

In order that the movement of the block '79 in the slot 80, when the adjustment for width of feather is made may produce a proper angular movement of the lever 81, the slot is formed at an angle to the longitudinal center of the lever. This angle is such that when the lever 81 has been swung upwardly until the knife 55 has been brought to a horizontal position, then the slot 80 will also be horizontal. so that the movement of the block the slot will produce no movement in lever 51, The

relation between the angle of the knife and leverBl'maybe varied by means of the ad justable connection between the yoke 83 and the rod 8 L Whicli'has been described. The yoke 83 is, in effect, a part of the lever 81. The novel sole prod'uced by the machine and the method of making it form the sub jest-matter of a divisional application Se rial no; 367,169, filed March 19, 1920, upon which United States Letters Patent No. 1,410,157 was, granted March 21, 1922.

Vhile it has been found. convenient to describe the present invention as embodied in a shank reducing machine for'turn soles, it is' to be clearly understood that the invention is not limited to use in such a machine but that it maybe adapted for use in 'othermachines for operating on soles for use in other types of shoes.

The nature and scope of the present invention having been indicated and the pre ferred embodiment of the invention having been specifically described, what is claimed as new is;

1. A machinefor operating on the marginal portion of soles having, in combination, means for engaging opposite sides of the sole tofdetermine the thickness thereof, an angular-1y movable" knife, and connec tions between the sole engaging means and the knife by which the knife is moved by variationin the thickness of the sole be- 7 connections ing is imparted to the knife in a varying ratio.

A machine for operating on the marginal portion of soles having, in combination, sole engaging means relatively movable in accordance with the thickness of the sole, an angularly adjustable knife, and between the sole engaging means and the knife by which the knife is moved by the relative movement of the sole engaging means, said connections inch'rding a leverhavinga varying ratio of leverage.

4t. A machine for operating on the marginal portion of soles having, in combination,--sole engaging means relatively mova lole in accordance with the thickness of the sole, an angularly adjustable knife, and

connections between the sole engaging means and the knife by which the'knife is moved by the relative movement of the sole engaging means, said connertions including a lever having a power arm arranged to decrease in length as the relative movement of the sole engaging means increases.

5. A machine for operating on the marginal portion of a sole of varying thickness having, in combination, an angularly adjustable knife,a roll having av fixed hearing to engage one side of the sole, a yield ii ig'roll adapted to'be moved toward and from the first roll by 'ariation in the thickness of the sole, alever having one arm operatively connected with the knife and the other actuated by power transmitted "from the movable roll and applied to said arm in a fixed straight line.

(5. A machine for operating on the mar ginal. portion of soles having, in combination, an angularly adjustable knife, an adjustable edge gage, and connections between the edge gage and the knife by which the knife is moved in a varying ratio to the adjustment of the edge gage.

7. A machine for operating on the marginal portion of soles having, incombination, an angularly adjustable knife, an adjustable edge gage, and connections between the edge gage and the knife by which any adjustment of the edge gage produces a corresponding angular movement of the knife.

Rf A machine for operating on the marginal portion of a sole varying in thickness having, in con'lbination, a roll having a fixed bearing to engage one side of the sole, yielding roll adapted to be moved toward and from the first roll by variation in the thickness of the sole, a rod slidable in fixed bearings. a lever connecting the rod and the yielding roll. and a second lever operatively conne' ted with the knife and connected with the rod by an arm of varying effective length;

9. A machine for operating on the marginal portion of soles having, in combination, a'roll having a lixed bearing to engage one side of the sole, a yielding roll to engage the other side of the sole, a lever moved by the yielding role in accordance withthe thickness of the sole. a rod connected with the lever and movable in a path parallel to the movement of the yielding roll. an angularly niovable knife, :1 second lever arranged to move the knife. and a pin pivoted on the rod and sliding engaged by the second lever forming a power arm of varying length by which the lever is moved.

10. A machine for operating on the marginal portion of soles having, in combination. a'roll having a fixed bearing to engage one side of the sole, a yielding roll to en gage the other side of the sole, an angularly nu able knife, connetions between the yielding roll and the knife by which the knife is moved, an adjustable gage to determine the width of the feather, and means for varying the movement imparted to the knife by the yielding roll in accordance with the adjustn'ient of the edge gage.

11. A machine for operating on the marginal portion of soles, having, in combination, a roll having a fixed bearing to engage one side of the sole, a yielding roll to engage the other side of the sole, an angularly movable knife, a lever having one arm operatively connected with the knife and the other arm adapted to be moved by the yielding roll, an adjustable edge gage, and connections between the edge gage and the lever arranged to vary the ratio of the lever arms when theedge gage is adjusted.

12. A machine for operating on the marginal portion of soles having, in combination, a roll having a fixed bearing to engage one side of the sole, a yielding roll to engage the other side of the sole, an adjustable edge gage, an angularly movable knife, a lever connected with the knife and adapted to be actuated by the movement of the yielding roll, and means for varying the point of application of power to the lever in accordance with the adjustment of the edge gage.

18. A machine for operating on the marginal portion of soles of variable thickness having, in combination, a shoulder knife mounted to swing about its cutting end as a center, scans for positioning the sole with one surface in a fixed relation to said center, and means actuated by variations in the thickness of the sole for swinging the knife.

14. A machine for operating on the marginal portion of a sole varying in thickness having, in combination, a shoulder knife mounted to swing about its cutting end as a center, a sole engaging roll having a fixed relation with said center to produce a uniform depth of shoulder, a movable roll to engage the opposite side of the sole, and connections between the movable roll and the knife for swinging the knife to produce a uniform edge.

15. A machine for operating on the marginal portion of a sole varying in thickness having, in combination, a shoulder knife mounted to swing about its cutting end as a center, a sole engaging roll having a fixed relation with said center, means for adjusting the relation between the roll and the center to vary the depth of the shoulder, a movable roll to engage the opposite side of the sole, and connections between the movable roll and the knife for swinging the knife to produce a uniform edge.

16. A. machine for operating on the marginal portion of a sole varying in thickness having, in combination, a shoulder knife mounted to swing about its cutting end as a center, a roll to position one surface of the sole in a fixed relation with said center, a yielding roll to engage the other surface of the sole, an adjustable gage to position the edge of the sole with relation to said center, a lever operatively connected to swing the knife, adjustable means for actuating the lever from the yielding roll, and a single locking device for securing the edge gage and said actuating means in adjusted positions.

17. A. machine for operating on soles having, in combination, a knife, means for feeding the work, a work support, an edge gage having a fixed relation to the work support, means for adj usting the work support and the edge gage with relation to the knife, and a cooperating connection controlled by the thickness of a sole to tilt the knife to preserve a uniform height of shoulder and a uniform height of feather edge regardless of variations in the thickness of the sole.

18. A machine for operating upon soles having, in combination, a knife, a work support adjustable late "ally of said knife, an edge gage mechanically connected to said work support so as to be constrained to be adjusted therewith, means connected with one of said parts for moving both relatively to said knife, and means operated by such movement to tilt the knife to preserve a uniform thickness of feather edge regardless of the width of the feather.

19. A stock-fitting machine comprising, in combination, means to support and feed a sole, cutting means to remove waste therefrom in a manner to provide a shoulder and a feather edge peripherally of the sole, and auxiliary sole-controlled means for varying the action of the cutting means when the sole varies in thickness to preserve the original depth of shoulder and the original height of feather edge.

20. A. stock-fitting machine comprising, in combination, a cutter mounted to form a shouldered feather on a piece of stock, means to measure a characteristic of the stock, and a connection from said means to vary the position of the cutter to an extent differing from but proportional to the extent of variation in measurements made by said means.

21. A stock-fitting machine comprising, in combination, a cutter mounted to form a. shouldered feather on a piece of stock, means to measure the thickness of the stock, and means to tilt the cutter according to measurements made thereby to preserve a uniform depth of shoulder and a uniform thickness of feather edge.

22. A stock-fitting machine com 'irising, in combination, a knife to split a piece of stock, an edge gage to determine the width of the stock operated upon, means to measure the thickness of the stock and tilt the a is knife to preserve the opposite sides of its out at uniform distances from the top and bottom of the stock, and auxiliary means simultaneously to vary the tilting of the knife and to adjust the edge gage.

23. A machine for fitting turn soles comprising, in combination, a cutting instrumentality to form a feather at the'edge of a sole, and a sole-controlled mounting therefor or constructed and"arranged'to tilt it about an axis parallel to the edge of the sole as the sole varies in thickness to gage the depth of opposite sides of the cut from opposite sides of the sole.

24. A stock-fitting machine comprising, in combination, a cutter to remove a section of waste about the edge of a piece of stockQa mounting therefor to gage one side of the cut from the top of the stock, and means cooperating therewith to gage the opposite side of the cut from the bottom of the stock.

25. A stock-fitting machine comprising, in combinatiomia cutter to bevel the edge of a piece of stock, an edge to determine the width of the bevel formed thereby, a manually-controlled device relatively to move the gage and cutter to vary the width of the bevel during the operation of the machine, and auxiliary means controlled by said device to vary the inclination of the cutter to preserve a uniform thickness of edge on the stock regardless of the width of the bevel.

26. In a machine of the class described in combination, members engaging opposite faces of a piece of stock and gaging its thickness by their degree of separation, an angularly-adjustable instrumentality tooperate on stock engaged thereby, and a connection therebetween constructed and arranged to impart progressively smaller degrees of angular adjustment to said instrumentality, in response to successive equal increments of separation of said members.

2'7. A machine as defined by claim 26, in which said connect-ion comprises a slide rectilinearly movable in a path parallel to the motion of separation of said members, and a rock-shaft oscillated thereby.

28. A machine as defined by claim 26, in which said connection comprises a lever arm whose length is automatically varied to provide for the difference in the angular movement imparted to said instrumenta-lity by a given movement of separation of said members when they are in different initial positions. y

29. A machine as defined by claim 26, in combination with an edge gage, and an auxiliary connect-ion automatically to vary the extent of angular movement of said instrumentality caused by a given separa tion of said members according to the position of the edge gage.

30. In a machine of the class described,

a cutter to operate on a, piece of stock, members engaging opposite sides of the stock to measure its thickness, means to tilt the cutter according to the positions of said members to gage spaced points in the cutting edge thereof from opposite sides of the stock, and connected means for varying the width of stock ope 'ated upon and for concomitantly varying the position of the said spaced points which are gaged from opposite sides of the stock.

31. In a machine of the class described. in combination, a cutter to cut a piece of stock, members to engage opposite sides of a piece of stock operated on thereby, a mounting for the cutter to hold it with a given pointin its cutting edge in unvarying relation to the surface of stock engaged by one of said members, and means to tilt the cutter about an axis passing through the said point as the other member approaches and recedes from the first member as the stock varies in thickness, said means automatically tilting the cutter through a smaller angle for the same variation in thickness when the stock is thick than when it is thin.

32. In a machine of the class described, in combination, an angular knife to remove a string of waste about the edge of a piece of stock to form a shouldered feather, members engaging opposite sides of stock.operated on thereby to feed the stock and to gage its thickness by their degree of se 'iaration, a mounting for the knife allowing it to tilt about the apex of the angle in its cutting edge and holding said apex at a constant depth to form a. uniform shoulder, and means controlled by the degree of separation of said members to tilt the knife to preserve a uniform feather edge.

A machine for feather-edging stock comprising, in combination, means to support and feed a piece of stock, an inclined edge cutter to form a feather on stork fed thereby, an edgegage to determine the width of the feather, manually-controlled means to change the relative positions of the. cutter and the gage to vary the width of the feather, and auxiliary means controlled by the relative positions of the cutter and gage to vary the inclination of the cutter to preserve an edge of uniform height regardless of the width of the feather.

34. A stock-fitting machine comprising, incombination, members to engage opposite sides of a sole blank to support and feed it and to gage its thickness, a cutter to operate about the periphery of a blank fed thereby, and a connection between one of said members and the cutter automatically to vary the position of the cutter with rcs 'icct to the sole blank as the blank varies in thickness in a definite relation, to the thickness of the blank.

35. A stock-fitting machine comprising, in combination, members to position and feed a sole and to gage its thickness, a cutter to operate about the periphery of a sole fed thereby, and sole-controlled means automatically to vary the position of the cut made thereby in the sole as the thickness of the sole varies as gaged by said members and in a definite relation to the thickness of the sole.

A machine for feather-edging soles comprising, in combination, members to engage opposite faces of a sole, a cutter to form a feather on a sole engaged thereby, a mounting for the cutter permitting it to tilt about an axis substantially coincident with one edge of the :t'eather, a mechanical connection between one of said members and the mounting to preserve the axis at a substantially constant distance from one face of the sole, and a second connection between the other of said members and the mounting to preserve at a substantially constant distance from the other face of the sole that point in the edge of the cutter which is coincident with the opposite edge of the feather from said axis.

37. A feather-edging machine comprising, in combination, a rigidly mounted device engaging one surface of a sole, a yieldingly-mounted device engaging the opposite surface, a cutter to form a feather on a sole engaged by said devices, and a mount ing for the cutter constructed and arranged totilt it to preserve opposite ends of the effective cutting edge of the cutter at constant distances respectively from said devices.

38. A machine as defined by claim 37, in which said mounting comprises a member fixed with respect to the rigidly mounted device and having a slot formed therein in the form of an arc struck about a center substantially coincident with one edge of the feather, a slide carrying the cutter and moving in the slot, and a connect-ion between the slide and the yieldingly-inounted device to move the slide to tilt the cutter as the sole varies in thickness.

39. A machine for feather-edging soles having, in combination, means for forming a feather on a sole, means to vary the slope of the feather, and means for simultaneously varying the Width of the feather and oper ating said slope-varying means in inverse proportion to the Width of the feather.

4:0. A machine of the class described having, in combination, a work-controlled tiltable beveling knife, means to determine the width of cut made thereby, and auxiliary means to vary the tilting of the knife in. inverse proportion to the width of the cut.

FREDERIG E. BERTRAND. 

